Puzzle Pieces in Our Hands
by MissMandS
Summary: The scream is animalistic in nature and it's coming from Nina who stares at the upturned crib. Because Eve's gone. Because Eve is gone without a trace. Without anything being stolen. Without any note. Because Eve is stolen. Meanwhile Anders strikes a deal with his brother, convincing him to give him a week, an attempt to see if he can care for the baby left outside of his business.
1. Chapter 1

All Mitchell can hear is screaming. The screams don't make any sense to him at first because he's heard all sorts of screams: of ecstasy, agony, laughter, joy. But this one is animalistic in nature and it's coming from Nina who stares at the upturned crib. The screams coming from her mouth border on howls, on screeches rather than cries. She keeps tugging at the blankets, the padding in the crib as if Eve will be underneath all of that. George isn't screaming but his mouth works soundlessly as he looks from Nina, to the crib. Annie pushes past him and Mitchell is almost sure that this is all a dream because Annie never pushes.

But then Annie is beside Nina and her eyes are welling up with tears that refuse to fall as she tries to pull her away from the crib and into her lap. Nina fights her, twisting and turning as Annie tries to comfort her. For a moment Mitchell expects for her to start transforming she's thrashing around so much. But Nina is still human and she's still screaming. Mitchell crouches on the floor with them, lifting up the bedding. He goes to the drawers, yanking them out one by one and looking for any signs of the baby, of Eve.

"What happened?" Mitchell's voice is a rough croak as he leans against the changing table for support. Nina is still screaming, still sobbing and twisting in Annie's arms in an attempt to get away from her. George is staring at him now, his mouth still working and his skin turning a sickly ashen color.

"Eve didn't wake up for her morning feeding so we came in here and she was gone Mitchell, she was just gone! There was no note asking for ransom, no anything…Nothing gone but Eve. They just took her." For a second he almost considers saying that George doesn't even know it was a 'they' but then Nina lets out a screech and he's running.

Eve. Eve. Eve. He can smell her in the flat; her scent permeates every single surface it seems: new skin, fresh flesh, purity, warmth, newborn baby. Eve is covering every single surface in their flat but he can't find her. He can't hear her. All he can hear is Nina's screams which are growing in volume with each passing second. And now George has joined in, his sobs raw and rough. It grates on Mitchell's nerves as he grips his head, attempting to keep some sort of hold over their world.

He can smell Eve. He can smell George and Nina. And he can even smell Annie in their flat. But that's all he can smell. There is no strange scents, no unfamiliar scents. There is no human, no werewolf, and no vampire. Mitchell lets out a broken groan as Annie's hand brushes his shoulder. Mitchell takes a final breath and then sprints from the flat. He has to get out of here; he has to get away from the screams. He sprints blindly, pushing past people who occupy the street.

Talking on their cellphones, searching the paper for something, talking to someone beside them, just walking, none of it registers with Mitchell. He stumbles into them, pushes them out of his way, breathing unevenly as he tries to get away from Nina's screams. It's not his fault he knows but somehow in the grand scheme of things he knows that Nina will turn it around until she can find a way to pin it on him. Eve is such a tiny thing and she's out there, somewhere all alone with someone who may not even know how to care for her.

For a moment he wonders if maybe, somehow Eve has become one of his victims. He cannot remember drinking her; he can barely remember holding her. He would likely be dead had he drank her but then again they don't know if she is even a werewolf. The idea has Mitchell folding over on himself with a sob, leaning back against a building and curling in on himself. Around him people slowdown in their day to day routines, lowering their cellphones, stopping the music on their iPods and whispering to each other.

"Should we help him?"

"I don't know…"

"You do it…"

And the realization that they live in a society where people will not only steal babies but are afraid to help someone crying only serves to make him cry all the harder.

* * *

Anders is aware of something being off the moment he steps into his office. He can smell Dawn's perfume: light and floral and her coffee. But she's not writing nor is she typing. He hears her making soft, cooing sounds.

"Dawn? I'm a little worried about your sanity right now. If you are losing your mind let me know so I can start hunting for," There's a frantic shushing as Dawn steps into view, barefoot he notes and frowning at him.

"Lower your voice, we just got her to calm down." He pauses, frowning as he notices the slight chill in the air. Ty is here with her and they've got something that's making them coo.

"Is it a puppy?" Dawn rolls her eyes and tapping her finger against her lips pulls him towards her desk where Ty sits. There's an almost smile on his face as he holds a baby at arm's length. His knees are pulled to his chest, his feet barely resting on the chair. He too is barefoot Anders notes with some annoyance.

"What is going on with the shoes?" And again he's met with shushes and fingers tapping against lips. Dawn points towards his shoes with an expectant look on her face. Anders huffs but toes them off and comes to join Ty, kneeling down for a better look at the baby. She has a small, round face, her head covered by a white cap. Her eyes are bright, her nose tiny and her ears rounded.

"Looks like a baby to me." Anders finally concludes, ignoring the eye roll that both Ty and Dawn give him.

"I got to work this morning and saw someone outside. I asked if they needed anything but they just took off and left this little bundle behind. Inside was this little baby." Dawn's expression is slightly pinched as she takes the baby from Ty, adjusting her grip until the baby rests with her head in the crook of her arm. A sour feeling twists in the pit of Anders stomach at her words.

"Dawn have we had any clients recently that had children that you know of?" Her head shake might as well be a blow to his stomach.

"Not that I can think of, why?"

"That means the person who left her was probably watching this place. They knew our schedules and knew the exact time to drop her off so they could know someone would find her. But they didn't want to be found themselves. Oh Christ, what are we going to do with a baby?"

"Call the police of course. I mean we'll need to make a report. I didn't get a clear look at the person but…" Dawn trails off, stepping closer towards Anders. The sour twisting is becoming a knot now, growing tighter and tighter, constricting and threatening to make him ill. Dawn's expression is one of genuine concern as she grabs hold of his arm, giving it a gentle squeeze.

"Anders are you okay?" He blinks and with a clear of his throat allows Bragi to take over.

"Dawn I want you to take the baby into my office and get on my computer. Order some things for her. Clothes, diapers, bottles, whatever you want with the company credit card." Dawn blinks, looking first at the baby and then at Anders. She hesitates for a moment then nods and heads towards his desk. Anders slips an arm around Ty's shoulder and hurriedly guides him to the bathroom.

"This is the only place where we can have a private conversation about abandoned babies and other things these days. Ty we cannot let her call the police. We cannot let them even come close to finding out about this." Ty looks irritated at not only being stuffed into the bathroom but at being stuffed into with Anders who he attempts to shift away from.

"And why not? It's not exactly like we have the means to care for a kidnapped baby. And if the police coming looking for her what do we say? Oh sorry officers, we didn't want to hand her over. She was just so cute, you couldn't make us."

"Why do you assume she was kidnapped? From what Dawn said it sounds like she was abandoned by a…Person who couldn't or didn't want to care for her anymore. If we call the police they'll take her and put her into foster care. And who knows what will happen to her then? She has no voice. They can put her in a home where they speak in tongues and roll around on the floor. And all that baby can do is shit and spit up all over herself." Ty chews on the inside of his cheek then sighs, looking down at his shoes and then up at Anders face.

"Eve. Her name is Eve. There was a note that came with her and that was all it said was Eve."

"It's not a name I would pick for my daughter then again who knows how many daughters I have running around?" Anders trails off, leaning back against the bathroom door. He thinks about foster homes, of the possibilities should Eve be put into one. There are good ones and she could be put into one of those. Or she could be in one that…They might not care. They might hit her because she won't stop crying. They might shake her.

"Let me try. For a week, let me try. Just a trial basis and we'll see how I do. No foster care though, please Ty." His brother is silent as he lifts his head, scrubbing a hand over his face with a sigh.

"Okay Anders. But her name stays. And if you can't handle taking care of a baby then…Do the right thing for her."

"I'm doing that now aren't I?" Anders retorts as he exits the bathroom, hands shoved into his pockets as he heads for his desk where Dawn rocks back and forth with Eve against her chest.

* * *

Yet another fic I've had on my laptop for quite a while that has been gathering dust. Late night allergy attack and snacking have made me post this.


	2. Chapter 2

He does not go home at first because it's not home. Because Eve is not there crying, eating, waiting for a diaper change or making gurgles and coos at whoever's making faces at her, smiling at her. Because he doesn't know if Nina is still screaming or if she has screamed herself raw or into an uneasy sleep. Because he knows George will be by her side and that he will be crying if Nina is asleep. Because Annie will be there making teas and foods that will go untouched because they cannot bring Eve back to them and will not stay down. So Mitchell wanders to the part of town occupied by the drug dealers and the homeless.

Here he fits in. There are no men and women whispering behind their hands like on the subway as they stare at his puffy face decorated with dried tear streaks. There are no parents tugging their children away because his clothes are stained with dried snot, food and other unidentifiable substances. There are no stares because he won't stop crying with rough, harsh sobs that seem to tear through his entire body.

Here he can sit on the ground and let sob after sob tear through his body as a girl sits down next to him with a pinched expression. She's not very old, probably around seventeen or eighteen. She has a backpack that is brimming with what looks like bags of junk food, bottles of water, energy drinks and notebooks. She's staring at him with a slightly unsure expression as she opens her mouth and then closes it.

"Cassie, why don't you go and take Pock here for a walk? Take the bag; remember to pick up any of her poop." Cassie looks less than thrilled about having to take the small dog, Pock but does so anyway, standing up and walking away from Mitchell. She's replaced by an older man who sinks down with a small sigh, scrubbing a hand over his face.

"I wish that she would go home. Ran away from home a couple weeks ago because mom got remarried and she doesn't like the guy. I've told her that she has to talk to her them else she'll never be able to work things out between her and her stepdad." The man is older with lines around his eyes and mouth. His hair is more silver than black, hanging in one long braid down his back. His skin is tanned and weatherworn. He has a slight almost warmth about him as he holds his hand out to Mitchell.

"Keith."

"Mitchell."

The two sit together in silence for a while, listening to the sounds of others. Keith doesn't press for answers, doesn't ask any questions. He sits in silence until finally he pulls out a cigarette and hands one over to Mitchell who utters a quiet thanks. It's as Keith is lighting his cigarette that Mitchell talks.

"I live in a flat with my friends. Two of them, George and Nina have this baby together named Eve. They've been through hell with just the pregnancy and we finally had her. And then this morning they found out that someone had taken her." Keith doesn't say anything but nods, taking a long drag off his cigarette so Mitchell continues ahead. "There was nothing stolen, literally _nothing_. They just took her." He scoffs, shaking his head. There are tears pricking at his eyes, threatening to spill over as he looks back at the other man.

"We've been through hell this past year, I mean absolute hell. Everything that went bad went bad. For every person that we found we lost them to death or they left us or they betrayed us. I mean Nina she practically died giving birth and George, he…Christ, I don't think he could live without her. The doctors said that the placenta detached and Nina just started bleeding and," His voice trails off and Mitchell pulls his knees up to his chest as he lets out a shuddering sigh.

The memory of Eve's birth is still vivid in his head. The endless hours of waiting in the hospital, of watching George sit on the bed and rub at Nina's back which she kept claiming ached and then her stomach which she swore ached even more. Annie had been no help, rattling on about how she'd always wondered about pregnancy and birth and how it had always looked like such a mess; bloody, painful, no thank you. And Mitchell, who had no idea of what to say. The few births he'd witnessed in his day had ended in buckets of blood and dead mothers. And then Nina had started screaming how the contractions wouldn't stop, her fingers digging into the skin of her stomach through the gown as she began to bleed. And then they were being ushered from the room, told they had to go as the words 'detached placenta' and 'emergency C-section floated throughout the hospital'.

"That's thing about life Mitchell. You get so sucked into others' lives sometimes that you forget how live yourself. Your kids, your parents and even your friends. Your friends daughter, man we live in a fucked up world I can tell you that. George and Nina need to lean on each other and take breaks from the other one because they'll look for someone to blame and may just find it's easy to blame each other. You can't find your happiness trying to make everyone else happy."

"Trying to make your friends happy only makes you get absorbed into their lives trying to balance between yours and theirs," Keith holds out both of his hands, palm up. "You want to make them happy and make sure they're okay. You sacrifice and they sacrifice too. But it's difficult to balance and sometimes you live for them, with them or through them because you've become a part of them."

"We're a part of each other." Mitchell says quietly.

"Nothing wrong with being a part of each other. From what it sounds like you and your friends have been through hell and back. But perhaps you should try and find your own happiness, even if that's away from George and Nina." There's an almost knowing look in Keith's eyes as he stands up and moves off, his braid swaying back and forth between his shoulder blades.

"Keith." The man stops, looking over his shoulder.

"Where do you go when you don't know where to go? And what to do you do when you don't know what to do, anymore?"

"Grab your boot straps and start over. And realize that some things aren't your fault at all, some aren't your entire fault and some are." And with that he walks off. Mitchell lingers for a moment, watching as he turns around a corner and then disappears. He lingers for a while after Keith's gone, smoking a cigarette and striking up an occasional conversation with some people who come to sit with him. It's as he's grinding out his last cigarette that Cassie returns, the same pinched expression on her face.

"Hey Cassie, before I go. You should go home, talk to your mom and stepdad. Just talk to them. They may be a little more understanding than you think." Without waiting for a response Mitchell walks back towards the flat.

It's quiet inside, the quiet more eerie than comforting. In the first days that George and Nina brought Eve home from the hospital all she did was fuss and cry. And now Mitchell finds himself wishing for those wails that he used to so desperately wish away with a pillow clamped over his ears. There are no cries that he can hear. The TV is playing quietly and may as well be playing on mute. The air is tinged by the sour stink of vomit, overlapped by tea and formula which makes his stomach churn.

Annie's emerging from the kitchen as he's peeling his jacket off, a bottle in her hand. It's filled with soapy water and the expression on her face is a tired one as she sniffs, reaching up and rubbing at her eyes.

"I didn't even think about it. I just…Eve usually has a feeding about now and Nina's sleeping. Oh Mitchell, she wouldn't stop screaming." Annie trails off, taking a shaky breath as she stares down at the bottle. "I just want everything to be normal." Mitchell considers telling her that things stopped being normal the moment he was bitten, that George was scratched and Annie was murdered. But that's just cruel and all he can do is pull her into his arms as Annie lets out a sob, the bottle clattering to the floor and spilling soapy water across the floor.

They end up on the couch, their arms wrapped around the other one as they both let out sobs of 'not fair' and 'I know' as Mitchell cries and Annie lets out dry sob after dry sob, rocking the both of them back and forth. Neither notices when George wanders into the room, staring first at the bottle on the floor and then at them before he turns and walks back upstairs to his and Nina's bedroom.

* * *

The news about Eve spreads quickly throughout the family. It starts with Axl who calls mid-cry. Anders and Dawn have Eve on the floor of the office, laid down on some spread out blankets with her legs lifted as they attempt to scrape the worst of what Ty calls a 'pooplosion' off her bottom. Eve is less than happy about the administrations from Anders and Dawn, her fist jammed into her mouth as she lets out wail after wail, her face growing redder and redder.

"I know, I know. No one likes this and I'm so sorry honey." Dawn mutters as Anders phone begins to ring. Anders who has a tube of diaper rash cream stuffed into his mouth (put there by Dawn) attempts to wrestle a wet wipe from the container as Dawn tells him once more to hurry up. Anders turns his head to spit the tube out and looks at Ty, annoyed.

"Could you answer that please? If you haven't noticed I'm elbow deep in shit!" He shouts. It only serves to make Eve scream harder as Anders finally wrestles a wet wipe from the box and hands it over to Dawn. The two keep their heads close together, muttering orders to one another: 'hand me this', 'this one?', 'no, the other one' and 'oh Christ, she isn't done yet'. Neither one pays attention to Ty's slowly falling face as he slowly lowers the phone from his face. He's silent as he picks up the discarded wet wipes, his jaw clenched. It's as Anders is uncapping the tube that Ty clears his throat, looking almost apologetic.

"That was Axl calling you. Mike is wanting us to meet at the bar tonight. But I think there will be a slight change in plans."

"I don't think babies are allowed in bars." Anders mutters.

"No, he's ah…Well he's coming here." And in that moment Anders isn't sure what's worse: the fact that Mike is coming here to his office or the fact that Eve is grunting loudly. All he can manage in that moment is a mutter of shit.

To say the office is a mess by the end of the day would be an understatement. There are bags full of paper towels, wet wipes, diapers. Packages of diapers are strewn about, boxes of wipes covering both his and Dawn's desks with canisters of different formulas. Eve lies asleep in a car seat, completely unaware of both the state of the office and the fact that Anders, Ty and Dawn are sprawled across the furniture with looks of pure exhaustion on their faces.

"Who knew babies could poop so much?" Ty finally manages, lifting his head to look at Dawn.

"Who knew they could spit up so much?" Dawn asks; her tone warm as she plucks at her stained blouse. Anders lets out a long, low groan as he lifts his face from the couch and stares up at the ceiling.

"Who knew babies…Just babies? She eats, she poops, she spits up. And the spit up, it smells bad. I was told by Dawn that spit up doesn't smell bad."

"Breast fed babies." Dawn says evenly and Anders groans, turning his face back into the couch. The company credit card has been loaded down with baby clothes in varying sizes, some of them because Dawn said that Eve had to have them. She'd said the same exact thing about the crib. And all of its accessories. Anders is thinking about that when the door opens and Mike practically stomps in, his face thunderous. Behind him trail Axl who wears a particularly guilty expression and Olaf who looks one part curious, one part amused.

"What the fuck is this I hear about you having a baby now?" All three of them forget about their exhaustion at Mike's voice. They sit up, shushing him loudly as they tap their finger against their lips and scowl at him.

"For God's sake Mike, Eve is sleeping and we just got her down a little bit ago. If you don't mind keeping your voice down…" Anders trails off. Mike scowls but says nothing as he looks at Eve. He doesn't just stare at her but he glares, his lips a thin line as his nostrils flare. Anders can see red slowly creeping up his neck as he clenches his jaw. Behind them Olaf clears his throat, clapping his hands together quietly, as he smiles over them.

"So her name is Eve, huh? I didn't expect you to pick that kind of name Anders." Dawn stands up from her spot at the desk, moving to grab Eve's car seat.

"You know I think that I'll take the little missy here and go on a little car ride. Ty, Anders, I'll see you when…I'll see you in a little bit. I'm going to do another run by the store in fact. Grab some more last minute things." And without another word Dawn grabs Eve's car seat and makes a hasty exit from the office. Anders considers reminding her that she has spit up stains on her blouse but keeps his mouth shut as the door closes behind her and Mike unleashes his anger.

"You've named her? You've named her? Or did her mother name her, her mother who I suspect is dead or you've Bragied into believing that you'll take care of the baby until you get tired and run away from fatherhood." Mike yells. Anders sits up, straightening his suit out as he shoots a glare at Axl. The younger Johnson winces, taking a small step back with his hands help up.

"I'm sorry but when I called you earlier all I could hear was this screaming in the background. And you don't seem the type to…Well who knows how many kids you have running around. But you don't seem the type…" Ty sighs and shakes his head at Axl.

"They were just changing a diaper. Babies sometimes cry or scream during diaper changes believe it or not. Eve was here this morning when Dawn showed up for work. She said that she saw someone outside. Asked if they needed anything but they just took off and left her behind. There was only one note with her and it was her name." Mike lets out a long breath, his face still red as he shakes his head at Anders.

"And you didn't call the police?" Mike demands. The silence that follows is deafening and Mike lets out a groan, lifting his hands in the air. "Of course not, why am I not surprised? Why would Anders ever take responsibility for anything? I mean you never have before, why start now?"

"He is taking responsibility. He and I have agreed to try for a week, to let Anders take care of her for a week. A trial basis to see how he can do." Ty says and gives Mike a sharp look.

"I will not let her go into foster care. Believe it or not Mike I can take responsibility for some things. I can take care of others and look after them like you failed to." Ty lets out a sigh and shoots him a glare. Mike stiffens; his jaw clenching as he takes a step towards Anders.

"You don't know what it's like to take care of a baby."

"Neither do you and Val." A small part of him regrets it as soon as he says it because all the fight goes out of Mike and he seems to physically wilt right then and there. But then he's straightening up, his face dark as he turns and stomps out of the office. Axl stands with wide eyes, looking unsurely back and forth between the door and Anders. Finally he clears his throat and offers Anders an apologetic smile.

"If you want I can have Gaia set up an appointment to look Eve over. You know, make sure that she's okay."

"Yeah, that'd be great Axl just let me know when." Axl's smile is an almost nervous one as he turns and walks out of the office. The only one who lingers is Olaf, his expression slightly pinched but not with worry or anger as he sits down on one of the couches. He surveys the office, raising his eyebrows at the sheer amount of stuff that clutters the space.

"Well Anders…You seem to have gone to extreme lengths for this baby already. Do you have enough stuff?" He groans, letting his head falling back.

"Dawn ordered more stuff, this is actually just the stuff that we went out and bought today. There's a playpen for her to sleep in tonight that I set up at Anders and there's pieces of shredded paper everywhere to go with it because the instructions are utter bullshit." The last part is muttered by Ty who begins to canvas the room and gather up the items. Olaf watches him for a few moments then turns back towards Anders.

"Do you think you're doing the right thing? I mean…Do you get any strange feelings from that baby?"

"Strange feelings, like what? She spits up, she screams, she cries when we change her diaper, she poops and she eats. Baby stuff." Anders shrugs.

"I mean that the baby isn't quite human. Well she's human. I'm just getting some rather odd feelings from her."

"Have you been smoking today grandpa?"

"No I have not and that is probably my problem. Ah Christ, I'm a great-grandpa now. Yet somehow I still manage to look as great as I did when I was just a grandpa. If you have any baby questions probably shouldn't call me. Call someone else." Olaf says and with a wave walks out the door.

"Dawn should be back here fairly soon Anders. I've got most of the stuff together for our cars if you want us to stay the night tonight and help out." Ty says; his arms weighed down by bags.

"Yeah, that sounds great. Can I have alcohol yet?" He feels a headache coming on after his meeting with Mike and from the throbbing at his temples; it's going to be a big one. Ty is unsympathetic as he shoves a bagful of diapers into Anders arms.

"Nope, you're on the clock for father time."

* * *

Father time it turns out is nonstop. Eve is still sleeping when Dawn pulls up. She sleeps through them loading their cars up, through Anders carrying her up into his apartment and through all of them flopping down onto the furniture with groans of relief. It's just as they're getting comfortable that she wakes up.

Ty and Dawn coach him through making bottles, burps and diaper changes, taking turns at making dinner and helping Anders. Eve isn't particularly happy about being their test subject but puts up with being passed back and forth, having her back patted and having her already dry diaper changed. By the time ten o' clock rolls around and dinner has been had on both ends, Anders is feeling confident, bordering on cocky as he stares down at the sleeping baby.

"I've put the playpen in your room by your bed and Dawn put some pajamas out for her. There are extra pairs if she spits up or needs them changed for other reasons." Ty mutters sleepily. He's allowing Dawn to wrap him up in a sleeping bag as he stares at the inflating air mattress longingly.

"And her diapers and all those goodies are by the bed. If you need help in the night wake either one of us up if we aren't up already." Dawn says as she joins Ty on the air mattress. And Anders wants to ask them how hard it can be. But he's cut off by a yawn. He stands up and wanders towards the bedroom, rubbing at his eyes.

"Oh gods, I'm tired. And it's your entire fault, you know that, huh?" Anders says quietly as they step into his room. He flips the light on and lies Eve down on the bed. He goes over to the pile of pajamas, searching through them. He settles finally on the one that looks the least complicated, still feeling cocky as he goes to put it on her. Then Eve wakes up and she's not entirely happy about being changed nor is Anders feeling so cocky. Anders shushes her apologetically as slips her arms into the sleeves, only for them to stop high above her wrists.

"God, I hate baby clothes!" From the living room comes a sigh and then Dawn's light footsteps padding towards his bedroom.

* * *

My chapters are usually around 1,100-1,500 in length. I'm on a roll with these extra long chapters here lately and I cannot complain about it at all.

As far as OC's go, I don't plan to introduce any more or have those two make any reappearances. I only needed them for this chapter, really.


End file.
